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Jonathan A. Mitchell, PhD
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
Dr. Mitchell's research aims to explain variations in childhood growth patterns related to the causes and prevention of diseases in later life. This includes studying the impact of behaviors and genes on body composition during development, especially childhood sleep and physical activity behavior.
Bio
Dr. Mitchell's research aims to explain variations in childhood growth patterns that are related to the causes and prevention of diseases in later life. This includes the study of behaviors and genes and their impact on body composition during development, with an emphasis on childhood sleep and physical activity behavior.
- He leads the Sleep and Growth Study that is designed to better understand how sleep patterns impact adolescent body composition, and to identify genetic and environmental determinants of sleep.
- He was the first to report that low frequency variation near the EN1 locus was associated with pediatric bone density.
- He led a gene-environment interaction study and observed that physical activity was associated with higher pediatric bone density, even among children genetically predisposed to bone fragility.
Education and Training
BSc (Hons), University of Glasgow, Physiology, 2004
MSc, University of Glasgow, Physiology, 2006
PhD, University of South Carolina, 2011
Titles and Academic Titles
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
Professional Memberships
American College of Sports Medicine, 2007-
Institute for Translational Medicine and Therapeutics at the University of Pennsylvania, 2014-
American Society for Bone and Mineral Research, 2014-
Center for Health Incentives and Behavioral Economics at the University of Pennsylvania, 2018-
Chronobiology and Sleep Institute at the University of Pennsylvania, 2019-
Professional Awards
Michael L. Pollock Student Scholarship from the American College of Sports Medicine, 2010
Ruth L. Kirschstein Individual National Research Service Award (F32) from the NIH/NCI, 2011-2014
New Investigator Award from the American Society of Preventive Oncology, 2012
Young Investigator Award from the American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons, 2014
Mentored Research Scientist Development Award (K01) from the NIH/NHLBI, 2015-2020
John Haddad Young Investigator Award from the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research, 2016
New Investigator Award from the American College of Sports Medicine, 2017
Rising Star Award from the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research, 2017
Publication Highlights
Pubmed:
Mitchell JA, Morales KH, Williamson AA, Huffnagle N, Ludwick A, Grant SFA, Dinges DF, Zemel BA.. Changes in sleep duration and timing during the middle-to-high school transition. J of Adolesc Health. 2020 Dec; 67(6):829-836. PMID 32576483
Mitchell JA, Williamson A, Fiks AG. Targeting sleep duration and timing for prevention of adolescent obesity. JAMA Pediatr. 2019 Sep; PubMed PMID: 31524928
Mitchell JA, Chesi A, Elci O, McCormack SE, Roy SM, Kalkwarf HJ, Lappe JM, Gilsanz V, Oberfield SE, Shepherd JA, Kelly A, Grant SF, Zemel BS. Physical activity benefits the skeleton of children genetically predisposed to lower bone density in adulthood. J Bone Miner Res. 2016 Aug; 31(8):1504-12. PubMed PMID: 27172274; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4970901
Mitchell JA, Chesi A, McCormack SE, Roy SM, Cousminer DL, Kalkwarf HJ, Lappe JM, Gilsanz V, Oberfield SE, Shepherd JA, Kelly A, Zemel BS, Grant SF. Rare EN1 Variants and pediatric bone mass. J Bone Miner Res. 2016 Aug; 31(8):1513-7. PubMed PMID: 26970088; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4970877
Mitchell JA, Rodriguez D, Schmitz KH, Audrain-McGovern J. Sleep duration and adolescent obesity. Pediatrics. 2013 May; 131(5):e1428-34. PubMed PMID: 23569090; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3639456
Active Grants/Contracts
Sleep, Energetic Behaviors, and Adolescent Obesity during the Transition from Middle to High School
NIH/NHLBI
2015-2020
This is a career development award to provide training in pediatric growth and body composition, including the contribution of genetic and energetic behaviors to pediatric obesity and bone accretion.
PI: Jonathan Mitchell
Gut Microbiota and Pediatric Bone Density and Strength
American Society for Bone and Mineral Research
2017-2020
This award is supporting the 16S sequencing and metabolomic analysis of the stool samples to test if the gut microbiota is associated pediatric bone density and strength during adolescence.
PI: Jonathan Mitchell
Increasing Childhood Sleep Duration in the Primary Care Setting
CHOP: Possibilities Pilot Project Award
2018-2020
This mobile health study is using the University of Pennsylvania’s Way to Health platform to conduct an optimization trial to determine effective component settings for sleep promotion in pediatric primary care.
PI: Jonathan Mitchell
Effects of Sleep on Bone Density and Strength in Adolescence: A Prospective Longitudinal Study
NIH/NICHD (R01 HD100421-01)
2020-2025
The objective is to determine if sleep duration, timing and quality associate with changes in bone density and strength in early adolescence (ages 12-15y).
PI: Jonathan Mitchell